Enrolees
Congratulations! You're admitted. You'll be joining Safirka kindergarten soon.
To help you get started, we would like to give you as much information as possible so that you feel like a fish in water. If there's anything we've left out, don't hesitate to ask.
What a child should know when he/she starts kindergarten:
A CHILD ENTERING KINDERGARTEN SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO(usually around age 3)
· basic self-care
- eats independently with a spoon –= does not need to be fed
- puts on at least some items of clothing – for exemple, pulls up trousers, puts on underwear, puts on slippers, or can put on a t-shirt or sweatshirt.
· basic hygiene habits and skills
- doesn’t use diapers anymore
- is able to defecate on the children's toilet
- can flush the toilet
- washes his/her hands
- uses a towel
- is encouraged to sniffle independently with assistance if necessary
- tries to cover his mouth (ideally with his elbow) when coughing
· level of speech
- at least passive speech understanding
- basic response from the child (e.g.: head nodding for yes)
- possibly non-verbal communication (e.g.: shows what he/she wants)
- the child is no longer in need of a baby dummy/pacifier
- If your child is not yet at the required level in any of these areas – try practicing with them until September. You will definitely see a difference.
Adaptation
Once enrolled you will be invited to one introductory morning to your child’s new class where you can meet the teachers and classmates. Adaptation then starts on the first day of kindergarten. We do our best to respond to the individual needs of the child and parents. We recommend that parents speak often about kindergarten at home to help the child perceive this change in a positive way. For the first few days of kindergarten, it can be challenging for the child to say goodbye to their parents. Children may be tearful and sad about your departure. Find your own goodbye ritual and try to not appear sad, and it’s best not to make the goodbye too long. Teachers will help you with this. If saying goodbye is repeatedly difficult, please feel free to call us to check on how your child is doing. Don't worry, it won't take long till your child doesn't want to go home from kindergarten in the afternoon.
Application “Clever Kindergarten”
Before the beginning of the school year you will be invited to download this application “Chytrá školka” that allows parents to mark the absence of the child and unregister the food for the day. It will also notify you of your class trips and events in advance. For that, you need to allow the notifications. During the new calendar year (2024) we plan to move to a new application.
The necessary rules to start with
All the parents agree to follow the School Rules Code to Safirka when signing the contract. The actual version is available on the school boards or here. What do you need to know for the first day? You need to have your application downloaded, and sign in the attendance of your child. In the case of an urgent illness it is possible to pick up lunch the first day of absence between 11:40 and 12:00pm or just 12:00. You can cancel your child’s lunches through the application and cancel the food fee for certain days (it is possible till 10am for the following day/s). In the case of illness we kindly ask you to give us information about your child's illness maybe say why here, so we can look for symptoms in other students etc.
You can arrive to the kindergarten at 8:45 so that the child has enough time for free play before we start our program at 9:00 am. The late arrivals disturb the flow of the class. You can pick your children up after lunch at 12:30 or after snack from 15:00 to 17:30. The main programme of the class is scheduled from 8:30 to 16:30.
We do not accept ill children into the kindergarten. We understand that sometimes it is complicated for your professional life, especially in the first year but we are obliged to protect the health of all the children and employees of the school.
Clubs & Afternoon activities
During the whole week children have plenty of organized activities and free play: singing, sports, dancing, creative activities. During the main programme they attend Reggio atelier, school preparations and speech therapy. Free play is very important for a young child's healthy development and social skills. It is especially during the afternoon that children have space to be together and play freely. For older children we propose sports with Lemur or winter skiing (charged by Lemur).
Parents' Group
Join our private Safirka Group on facebook and be in touch with other parents to exchange, discuss, suggest. You can initiate an event at school or plan a surprise for children. Some of our parents meet each other and organize events even after their children have left Safirka and have started elementary school.
